L’Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), France’s national gambling regulator, has announced a key leadership change, appointing Pauline Hot as its new director general. This transition marks a significant moment for French gambling oversight, particularly as the country continues its crucial deliberations on the potential legalisation of online casino gaming.

Pauline Hot steps into the regulator’s top position, having served as deputy director general since January of this year. An accomplished graduate of the prestigious École Normale Supérieure, Hot brings a robust background in public administration, including previous roles as an auditor and master of requests at the Council of State. She is also a former student of the École nationale d’administration, an institution historically dedicated to training high-ranking civil servants.

Hot succeeds Rémi Lataste, who led the ANJ for the past five years. Lataste has announced his departure from the ANJ, moving on to become director general of Campus Condorcet, Paris’s inter-university campus, a position he is set to take on from July 7, 2025.

Reflecting on his tenure at the helm, Lataste commended the regulator’s extensive work across several vital areas. He highlighted the ANJ’s efforts in protecting minors, preventing excessive gambling, and rigorously combating money laundering, illegal activities, and sports manipulation. Lataste noted that over his five years, the ANJ successfully “built the foundations of impact regulation” and “moved the lines on the various missions entrusted to the ANJ.” He attributed these achievements to the “exceptional human collective” within the ANJ, describing them as dedicated, demanding, and creative individuals who uphold the agency’s missions and the values of public service.

ANJ Engages in Discussions on France’s iGaming Future

The change in leadership arrives as the ANJ remains deeply engaged with the French government to shape the future of iGaming within the country. In its 2024 annual report, released last month, the ANJ confirmed its participation in a consultation process with both the current and previous French governments regarding the prospect of legalising iGaming in France.

Currently, France maintains a restrictive online gambling landscape, where only sports betting, poker, and lotteries are legal online. Casino games remain exclusively available at land-based venues, despite ongoing calls from operators to open a regulated online casino market. However, the ANJ has consistently advised that any such regulation must be “carefully considered,” given what it describes as the “highly addictive nature” of online casino offerings. The regulator has suggested that if the market were to open, its potential size could be comparable to that of 2010, when online betting was first regulated. Given the significant public health risks and economic impacts associated with such an expansion, the ANJ stresses that “a highly controlled regulatory approach should therefore be adopted.”

The ANJ has undertaken extensive work, examining foreign examples of online casino openings and assessing their economic and public health impacts. This research aims to inform and further its work in modelling the potential effects on the French market. The regulator has expressed its willingness to continue constructive talks with the government on the online casino opportunity going forward. While the French government launched a consultation process to determine the future of online casino last year, initial legislative drafting under the previous administration met with notable opposition from the land-based casino sector. Industry suggestions indicate that renewed iGaming legislation might be introduced as early as this summer or in early 2026.

As the ANJ’s new director general, Pauline Hot is expected to play a major and influential role in future discussions and decisions regarding the potential liberalisation of France’s online casino market, overseeing the regulator’s continued focus on responsible gambling and market integrity.